Socalism & Christianity, a perfect match or a complete clash of ideologies?
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Social security isn't welfare. It is actually one of a very few actual entitlement programs as people have had wages deducted for this program. So the fact that billionaires receive benefits shouldn't be surprising...it's their money. Why would anyone care if they receive it? If a wealthy individual purchased something online, when it arrived at his or her home would you say they shouldn't be allowed to have it?
I make no assumption Government does things well (a faulty assumption on your part). It's pretty evident they don't.
But neither do corporations or free will. We give huge tax breaks to the rich on the assumption they'll pass it down and take care of the poor and sick (poor and sick, not the lazy). But all they do is line the pockets of the rich while the poor and sick get nothing. Likewise, we give huge tax breaks to corporations on the assumption they'll trickle down to workers. But they don't, corporations spend them on stock buy-backs and lining the pockets of shareholders while workers get nothing.
Even churches - they either don't get enough in tithes and offerings to do any real good, or they go to line the pastors pockets instead of supporting the poor and sick. Ever see Joel Osteen's compound?
So while government is wasteful and inefficient for taking care of workers, the poor and the sick, it's a faulty assumption to think individuals and corporations and churches will do any better. Because they clearly don't.
Capitalism has one fatal flaw - human greed.
Socialism is inefficient and enables the lazy - but at least a small modicum of it supports the poor sick and working.
And Jesus? What He had in mind is far far out of mind to them all.
Our capitalist health care system is the most expensive, and has the worst outcomes, of any system in the world.
Sure there are flaws in people, but capitalism has built in efficiencies that socialism does not. When you can work harder and receive greater benefit, most will be more productive. And when innovation is rewarded, technology flourishes. We all benefit.
Unchecked capitalism will produce many problems. So laws can be made to protect the common good. Too brideled capitalism can't produce the capital necessary to function. So laws should reflect this reality. But if you want to produce economic benefit for the whole, socialism only does that with words, and capitalism does that in reality.
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kaylagrl
Guest
I have two people that knew for several years, their parents were pastor at our church years ago, on my Facebook page. Both the daughter and son had ill children. One had heart issues and the other cancer. We lost touch but I saw they were raising money to take the children state side for treatment.
Pill or not, hospitals are quick to pull the plug if they believe you will not live long, or die soon after living the hospital. They have to analyze the cost of keeping a person alive. That's why it is recommended you know someone who knows how to advocate for you in the hospital. Those without advocates are out of luck.
I hear of people doing that to skip the wait times especially if they feel something to be life threatening. I wonder if the healthcare adopts the morals of the government as well.
8,400 Canadians died while waiting for healthcare
Over 8,400 Canadians died while on a waiting list for treatment, including 2,256 who died waiting for surgery and 6,202 who died waiting for a diagnostic test or appointment with a specialist. The waits for treatment can often last months and, in some cases, years.
The numbers are likely an undercount, as SecondStreet.org was unable to get data from many regions and hospitals, including Quebec, Canada’s second-largest province. Article:
8,400 Canadians died while waiting for healthcare | Washington Examiner
Some Canadian Health Care Patients Say They're Being Encouraged To Just Die Already. Killing patients is part of Canadians Health Care System.
When the government runs the system, the right of citizens to end their own suffering can be twisted to serve the state.
Some Canadian Patients Say They're Being Coaxed Into Euthanasia to Cut Costs (reason.com)
Canadians pay a lot for ‘free’ health care. Spending on healthcare varies across Canada, but on average provinces spend approximately 38% of their total budgets on healthcare (Canadian Institute for Health Information, 2016). Per capita spending in 2016 for all of Canada is projected to be $6,299, but spending by province ranges from $5,822 in Québec to a high of $7,256 in Newfoundland and Labrador (Canadian Institute for Health Information, 2016). Note: These figures have increased anually since 2016.
Canadians pay a lot for ‘free’ health care | Fraser Institute
Current funding | Healthcare Funding
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kaylagrl
Guest
I lived under "free" healthcare, and for the situation of my family, it was lethal. My mothers sister took stomach cancer. She was told her issues were just nerves. Then one day she took pain in her stomach so bad she fell off the sofa and was bleeding from her mouth. They rushed her in to the hospital where they found stomach cancer. They removed her stomach and said she needed no more chemo, even though her surgeon recommended it. Before the year was out she died at the age of 43.
My mothers brother told his doctor he wanted a colonoscopy and his doctor laughed and said he was too young for one. He was 50. He took cancer about two yrs later. The treatments were so severe he had to wear gloves because he would lose skin if he touched anything. He died within three yrs of the doctor telling him he didn't need to get checked.
My cousin had a severe ear ache. I told her to get to her doctor. She told me he said it would take 7 months to see an ear specialist. SEVEN. She went into emergency one night in raging pain and the doctor said she was an addict and sent her home. She left the office and fell in the hallway. The nurse saw her and she explained that she was a mother with three boys at home that her husband was caring for and she had driven herself to emergency in raging pain. The doctor apologized for calling her an addict and said she could see a specialist in 5 months. By the time she got the help she needed she suffered permanent hearing loss in one ear.
I could tell more stories from my family and friends. And then try and sue that doctor, it's not gonna happen. So if Americans think free healthcare is the way, you might want to take a second look.
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kaylagrl
Guest
And I believe it. I lost three family members because of it. When my mother took cancer, I thanked God we were stateside. Her mother died of the same cancer in Canada. A doctor told my sister my mother wouldn't be alive today if she was living in Canada.
And see maybe that's why many feel the way they do about what is referred to as welfare or Social security because to the federal government and to the states it is considered welfare (notice if you will that the link I'm giving is from the federal Government and is their own definition not mine) https://www.ssa.gov/history/aja964.html ... Additionally in this case where the federal Government is saying SS is part of what they call welfare the vast majority of it is SS,Medicare,Medicaid and disability(ssi) and what many see as welfare given to the poor is less than 5% of what is included in the welfare programs budget. If you notice also in these links unemployment insurance is also included in what the Federal Government is calling welfare and so for instance those who were not working during the pandemic and were being given unemployment were considered recipients of the social welfare programs.
Anyway I will meet you half way on this though because I am retired and on SS myself. When I was younger and was able to work a plant I worked at moved and laid us all off and so I drew unemployment until I found other work. lol,, now to me I think I paid into the SS and unemployment for almost 60 years and so to me what I'm on(SS) isn't welfare it's a retirement program that they withheld from my check my whole life(an investment I made). That's all here from there though because it seems me and you see it the same I think but the Government(state and federal) sees it as a Social welfare program. I should say that's what has me following along with the post in this thread because it seems that most don't realize that the government actually does see SS(and other programs) as part of the social welfare program. Which now leads me to wonder,,,,,Do we really want them to end all the Social programs in the US or just a few? It sounds to me like they got us asking them to please do away with our welfare checks when they know that we don't realize that SS is included in it. https://econofact.org/welfare-and-the-federal-budget (this second link is not from .gov but you can find another if you like)...
No, it's not. For the reasons I listed in my previous post. 1 would be better if the benefits were spread equally among all, but as the last 30 years have shown, the benefits only go to the upper class. Jesus taught to elevate the lower class. Ergo, model 1 does NOT meet Jesus' teachings.